dempsey_k wrote:That was absolutely perfect. There was no other way it could or should have ended. Wysh is saying the first face in the ad was the actress leading the retreat - is that for real?

Edit never mind he said "basically"

Being a young'un when that commercial came out, along with being a broad in waiting, as were most of my friends, mowing down that group singing about coca cola being the true path to enlightenment was something I remember talking about.

That commercial kind of trumped the late 60's early 70's counter culture by bringing them onboard with a product that symbolized vaguely what they were rejecting.

It never occurred to me watching that the idea was that Don had done the Coke commercial. I thought he was trying on a new identity while the commercial showed that Madison ave. rolled on no matter who the players were, and who the target was.

mcphee wrote:It never occurred to me watching that the idea was that Don had done the Coke commercial. I thought he was trying on a new identity while the commercial showed that Madison ave. rolled on no matter who the players were, and who the target was.

Don writing the famous ad works too.

Some think they left some ambiguity there, but with Don smiling with a bunch of hippies on a cliff, it's tough not to think he was conjuring up that ad in the last scene (not to mention him fixing the Coke machine in a previous episode).

Nah, she seemed happy enough. Finally got to go to school, finally let go of all her stupid hangups about what other people think about her. Other than what she's wearing and how her hair looks, obviously.

I mean, I think he found peace, too. Ads are a cancer on the soul of society, but they're in Don's blood. That he accepted that and was able to return to ME isn't the shittiest ending for the guy.

My main beef with the finale is the Peggy/Stan bullshit (not that it happened, but how it happened) and the handful of "I FEEEL!" speeches/convos. Felt like a show that did quiet-profound so well for so long tried to go too big on some of its final notes.

dempsey_k wrote:Ehhhhh, it was kind-of out of step, but allowing that to be a violation doesn't make sense, especially in a wrap-up episode. It felt like it was plausible after going through season 4+. Their dynamic was pretty tight. I was expecting it when he sat down for drinks with her.

Again, that they get together is great. That Weiner chose to seal it in the rom-commiest way possible isn't. Also, Peggy passing on the opportunity with Joan, especially after the contracts she's lined up with Ken, doesn't strike me as right. Anywho, TV finales are given too much attention, and Mad Men will hold up despite a flaccid final episode.

When that coke commercial came out, I remember thinking, as did the people I'd talk to, that a soft drink company trotting out a nice mix of race,culture, long hair ,short hair doesn't erase that the fact many of those singing wouldn't still have the right to vote if a large % of the population thought they could get away with it.Singing on a mountain top didn't change that. I don't even think that not buying into what they were selling was that cynical. We were mainly a happy go lucky lot.